Papa John’s International, Inc. Expands Into Germany

LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ: PZZA), in partnership with its franchise partner PJ Western Group, today announced its expansion into Germany, with plans to open 250 restaurants in the German market over the next seven years. PJ Western Group, one of Papa John’s largest global franchisees in Central and Eastern Europe, has opened the first seven Papa John’s in Magdeburg and Leipzig and plans to open another six stores in Halle and Merseburg by the end of the summer.

“We are excited to expand our business farther west into the heart of Europe,” said Christopher Wynne, CEO and founder of the PJ Western Group, which currently operates 200 Papa John’s restaurants, in addition to ten dough production plants in Europe and Asia. “We are excited to bring great pizza and innovation to the German pizza market.”

To accelerate this expansion into Germany, PJ Western is looking for new franchisees to join the Papa John's family.

“More people around the world are being introduced to the BETTER INGREDIENTS. BETTER PIZZA.® promise of Papa John’s, thanks to the work of our partners like PJ Western Group,” said Jack Swaysland, Chief Operating Officer, International at Papa John’s. “This expansion into Germany follows a record year of sales and growth that has positioned Papa John’s to further accelerate development in international markets. We are excited to expand our partnership with PJ Western. Chris’ team has proven over and over again its ability to successfully develop new markets.”

In May 2019, PJ Germany, together with PJ Western, acquired 13 existing locations of another pizza restaurant with plans to convert each site into a Papa John’s restaurant. The project was initially postponed due to the COVID-19 global pandemic.

The company continues to focus on its rapid global development and is seeking potential franchisees in Brazil, Japan and Southeast Asia. Papa John’s is currently in 50 international countries and territories around the globe. In recent years, it has entered 12 new countries, including France, Spain, Tunisia, Iraq, the Netherlands, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Poland, Pakistan and Portugal.

About Papa John’s

Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ: PZZA) opened its doors in 1984 with one goal in mind: BETTER INGREDIENTS. BETTER PIZZA.® Papa John’s believes that using high quality ingredients leads to superior quality pizzas. Its original dough is made of only six ingredients and is fresh, never frozen. Papa John’s tops its pizzas with real cheese made from mozzarella, pizza sauce made with vine-ripened tomatoes that go from vine to can in the same day and meat free of fillers. It was the first national pizza delivery chain to announce the removal of artificial flavors and synthetic colors from its entire food menu. Papa John’s is headquartered in Louisville, Ky. and is the world’s third-largest pizza delivery company with more than 5,400 restaurants in 50 countries and territories. For more information about the Company or to order pizza online, visit www.PapaJohns.com or download the Papa John’s mobile app for iOS or Android.

PJ Western Group

PJ Western is one of the world's largest franchisees of Papa John's with its operations in Central and Eastern Europe. It has launched the Papa John’s brand in seven countries in Central and Eastern Europe, where more than 250 Papa John’s restaurants have been opened. Current markets include Russia, Poland, and now Germany, through its subsidiary PJ Germany. In addition to operating Papa John’s restaurants, the company has 10 plants for dough production facilities in Europe and Asia. It was founded by Christopher Wynne in 2007. Wynne owns a controlling stake in PJ Western through his company Global Restaurant Management LLC (“GRM”). More information about the current crowdfunding efforts of PJ Western can be found at wefunder.com/papa.johns.europe.